The foreskin is extremely sensitive and only light pressure and gentle motions must be used while stretching. Stretching the foreskin too aggressively may worsen your condition. Try tensing and relaxing regularly for increased flexibility.
Treatments for a tight foreskin
The foreskins of babies and young boys will usually loosen as they get older, so treatment is often not needed. If your or your child's foreskin is causing problems, treatments include: steroid creams or gels (topical steroids) to help soften the foreskin.
What is phimosis? Phimosis is a condition of the penis that occurs in some adults and children who aren't circumcised. If you have phimosis, your foreskin can't be pulled back (retracted). It may look like your penis has rings around the tip.
Foreskin retraction may happen right after birth. Or it may take several years. Most foreskins can be fully retracted by the time a young man is 18 years old. Retracting or pulling back the foreskin from the tip of the penis should not be forced.
Medical Management
Start stretching exercises on the foreskin, usually best by pulling the foreskin back until it feels tight (but not painful), and holding it back under tension for 10 minutes – usually after a bath or shower twice a day.
In this conservative (non-surgical) treatment approach, a steroid cream is applied to the tip of the foreskin twice a day over a period of four to eight weeks. The steroid cream makes it easier to stretch the skin. After two weeks, the child or his parents can start trying to gradually stretch the foreskin once a day.
For permanently removal of the foreskin a procedure called Circumcision has to be done. The procedure is a permanent removal of the foreskin, which would take 15-20 min. Recovery usually takes a week to 10 days. Was this answer helpful?
How far back should the foreskin retract? Usually, you can retract your foreskin behind the ridge of your penis. You should move it far enough back while you're peeing to see the meatus (the hole where urine comes out).
Some boys can retract their foreskin as early as age 5, but some may not be able to do this until their teenage years. Retraction of the foreskin should not be forced. This may cause pain and bleeding and can lead to scarring and adhesions (where skin is stuck to skin).
It is recommended to gently retract (or pull back) your foreskin when you urinate. You should pull back just far enough to see the meatus (the hole where urine comes from, this is typically at the tip of the penis). This helps to prevent an infection.
What are the main treatments? A doctor can manually retract the foreskin under local or general anaesthesia. You may also be shown how to gradually retract the foreskin after a bath, using petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or some other form of lubrication. But if the problem persists, circumcision may be necessary.
In men, circumcision is most commonly carried out when the foreskin is tight and won't pull back (retract), which is known as phimosis. But alternative treatments, such as topical steroids, are sometimes preferred.
What could have caused my tight foreskin? In children, a tight foreskin is usually congenital but, in adults, it is often due to a scarring disease known as balanitis xerotica obliterans (BXO, sometimes called lichen sclerosus).
Phimosis is normal for the uncircumcised infant/child and usually resolves around 5-7 years of age, however the child may be older. Pathologic phimosis: Phimosis that occurs due to scarring, infection or inflammation.
Gently retracting the foreskin over time can help resolve phimosis and steroid creams can also be effective1 in softening the skin and making it easier to move back and forth.
Some research shows that 2 percent of men have nonretractable foreskins throughout their lives, despite being otherwise healthy. Read on to learn more about the classifications of tightness in the foreskin, causes, and treatment options.
Phimosis in a young child is likely to improve on its own. In adults, phimosis will not go away unless surgery is performed or an infection is treated.
Risks. If you have phimosis, you are more likely to get penile cancer. If left untreated, it can lead to increased swelling, and in extreme cases, gangrene, and eventually the loss of your penis.
Smegma. If you do not wash your penis every day, a cheesy-looking substance called smegma can build up. Smegma is a natural lubricant that keeps the penis moist. It's found on the head of the penis and under the foreskin.
A healthy penis foreskin should be easy to pull back over the head of the penis and put it back again without feeling too tight or painful. “This is important so that you can clean underneath it – so a good time to try it is in the shower,” says Dr Ranj Singh.
If you happen to find yourself in bed with a man whose foreskin is still intact, here's what to expect… Risk of infection: Experts warn that when a man is uncircumcised, moisture can get trapped between his penis and his foreskin, creating the ideal environment for bacteria to incubate.